Carhartt, the Michigan-based workwear brand with roots stretching back to 1889, plans to open its first Lehigh Valley store at Lehigh Valley Mall in 2027. The store is set to occupy space at the mall's outdoor lifestyle center in Whitehall Township, adding a household workwear name to a shopping center that has spent much of the past year swapping out tenants at a rapid clip.
WFMZ.com reported the announcement, describing Carhartt as a global premium workwear brand headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan. The company traces its origins to Hamilton Carhartt, who founded the business in 1889 after talking directly with railroad workers and designing what became a better bib overall built for their needs, according to Carhartt's own company history. The brand has remained family owned and operated since.
Carhartt describes its mission as existing to serve and protect hardworking people, and its heritage centers on developing durable products for workers on and off the job, per the company's history page. Today the retailer offers apparel, footwear and accessories for men, women and children, and operates more than 70 company stores nationwide, including other Pennsylvania locations in Lancaster and Pittsburgh. Shoppers can also find Carhartt gear at preferred retailers such as Bass Pro Shops, Boot Barn, Cabela's, Dick's, Ramsey Outdoor and Tractor Supply Co.
Carhartt's Journey From Railroad Gear to Retail Shelves
Carhartt's own telling of its history notes that the brand became popular with consumers outside blue-collar trades during the 1980s and 1990s, expanding well beyond its original railroad-worker customer base. Under Mark Valade's leadership, the company launched dozens of Carhartt-owned retail stores, and in 2026 Carhartt officially became a Certified B Corporation. The company says it now employs more than 3,000 associates worldwide.
The Lehigh Valley Mall location would mark Carhartt's entry into a shopping center that has seen steady turnover. The mall's outdoor lifestyle center previously housed Williams-Sonoma, a space that Jennifer's Unique Boutique moved into before relocating its operations to Kutztown this year, according to the same WFMZ.com report that broke the Carhartt news.
A Mall in the Middle of a Tenant Shake-Up
Lehigh Valley Mall has welcomed around a half dozen new tenants in recent months, including L'Amour Visage, Lucky Brand, Nori Japan, Offline by Aerie, Pop Mart and Toys R Us, per the WFMZ.com report. More arrivals are on the way: Rowan, which offers ear piercing services and jewelry, is expected to join the lineup alongside Texas de Brazil, a Brazilian-American steakhouse, and Topli Kids, an indoor children's playground.
Timelines for Texas de Brazil's arrival have varied across reporting. lehighvalleylive.com reported in May that the steakhouse was not expected to open until spring 2027, while a separate WFMZ.com report put the opening in the fourth quarter of 2026 or the first quarter of 2027. Either way, the mall's roughly 150 stores have been in flux, with that May report noting four new stores had opened and roughly a half dozen more were on tap to move in at the time, including Pop Mart, which the mall's area director of marketing and business development said was expected to open later in 2026.
Other recent additions and planned openings at the mall have included Lina's Ice Cream & Cookie Shop and Lehigh Mart. Not every tenant has stuck around, though. The mall has also said goodbye to businesses including Icing, Face Foundrie, Indian Bite, Hairitage Beauty Salon, LOFT, And Pose Selfie Salon, Indigenous Hands by Kichwas Arts, Chick-fil-A and As Seen on TV.
No exact storefront address or opening date within 2027 has been specified for the new Carhartt location. For now, Lehigh Valley shoppers know only that the workwear brand that got its start outfitting railroad crews more than 130 years ago is finally setting up shop in Whitehall Township.
